I'm relishing the English conditions, says Bhuvi

Having bagged the man of the match award for his impressive spell up front, Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he was enjoying the English conditions that suit his style of bowling.

The right-arm pacer bowled an eight-over spell (8-2-19-2) that helped India bowl out Pakistan for 165 in 39.4 overs. “I am pretty much enjoying the conditions here. I had always wondered how it would feel to play in England. I am enjoying the bowling because it’s swinging and I can take early wickets to put the pressure. It’s true that the ball isn’t swinging as much as it did in India (late last year) but there is good bounce in the wicket, so that’s helping my bowling,” he noted here on Saturday.

Bhuvneshwar, in his short career, has done well against Pakistan but the bowler said it was a mere coincidence. “It’s not that I love to bowl against Pakistan. My aim the same against all opposition. It’s just a coincidence that I have taken more wickets against Pakistan.”

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore blamed the batting for his team’s failure to progress. Pakistan ended the tournament with all-lose record. “It would have been nice to score more runs. We have been losing wickets in clusters. And that’s an honest opinion,” he said.

Whatmore, however, felt one bad series doesn’t mean the team was bad. “It’s almost the same team that beat India,” he pointed out. “We beat India in India 2-1. It’s not a bad team, it’s just one bad series. Maybe in a bilateral series we’ll come back and do well. It’s easy to criticise but are being objective.”

The coach also praised the team’s bowling and fielding. “It’s nice to know that bowling attack is young. I would like to turn the clock one year ahead and see how good they are. They have played only 50 or so ODIs between them but with experience they will get better. As for fielding, it has been improving and that’s an encouraging sign,” he reasoned.

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